Alarming numbers of beginning teachers (BTs) leave the profession within 1-3 years, while many remain in the system but become demotivated. The transition from education studies into teaching is often difficult, largely due to mismatched expectations. In Israel, despite the importance assigned to teacher training and induction programs, high teacher dropout rates persist. PROTEACH aims at capitalizing on the recommendations of the EU’s “Handbook for policymakers on developing coherent induction programs” (2010), the experience of the European members of the consortium, and the lessons learned from the Israeli “incubators” induction model implemented by some of the partners in previous years, to create a more effective model of teacher induction: MIT – Multi-player Induction Teams. This model will take into account all areas to be considered when developing coherent and system-wide induction programs, will support BTs’ diverse needs and will empower them to become active players in their own induction process and in their schools, while increasing their retention rates.6 Israeli HEIs and 1 educational institute take part in the project and are responsible for conducting the actions in schools from which our understanding of the role of BTs and the importance of “amplifying their voices” will emanate. 4 European partners –Romania, UK Estonia & Austria – represent knowledge and experience in fields that are needed for the achievement of PROTEACH objectives. Throughout 3 iterations, the model and related curriculum will be fine-tuned. MIT groups will be created at 12 Israeli schools, with 180 BTs and 450 participants in total.Outcomes expected: (1) Establishment of Intra- and inter-HEI frameworks for mutual learning; (2) BT will be empowered to serve as key actors in their induction and school; (3) BT retention rates at participating schools will increase; 4) MIT-principles will be included in HEI training programs and accreditation and adopted by policy makers.

The proposed project is built on a previous KA2/CBHE project – the Proteach project No.573877. In the previous project we developed the MIT (Multiplayer Induction Teams) model for amplifying beginning teachers’ voice during induction in order to sustain teachers’ retention. The model is based on a partnership between the academia, the school and related policy makers that meet once a month in the school to discuss pedagogical and managerial issues that arise from the beginning teachers' work. Although the role of the Mentors is evident in the MIT context, results show that they weren't involved enough with the induction process. In the PROMENTORS projects we will advance the MIT model for a new model of mentors training in Israel. The new model will combine innovative mentors training from EU that emphasis on peer group mentoring and other process that stem from groups' learning and collaborative meaning making. 9 Israeli HEIs and 4 EU partners supported by the Israeli MOE will develop and pilot 18 mentors training MITs to structure a new mentor training course that will be accredited, and will be certificated. The novelty of our approach from the Israeli HEIs perspective is that it brings faculty staff back to school to be part, lead and accompany day-to-day processes in schools through the MIT community. This make HEIs more relevant both for supporting BTs' work and for facilitating teachers’ professional development. The outputs of the project will be a the structured mentor training MITs model ready to be implemented in the israeli educational system. As the project fit both the Israeli MEO and the HEIs polices its impact is evident.